JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The head of the state prison system is requesting more than $22 million to renovate some buildings at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
Corrections Commissioner Pelicia Hall says the buildings are housing maximum-security inmates, even though they were not designed for that.
She was among the state agency directors speaking to state lawmakers Monday. They held a day of public hearings to start planning for the budget year that begins next July.
Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher wants money to hire more Highway Patrol troopers. He says the state has a "critically low" number of troopers on the road.
Drew Snyder, director of the Division of Medicaid, says the health insurance program for low-income residents has taken dozens of steps to reduce expenses